The markets continue to be under severe selling pressure in trade today. The Nifty is trading below the 24,300 mark, while the Sensex has plunged close to 1,700 points in intra-day trade. The cut is deeper across the small- and midcap space with the BSE Small Cap and the Nifty Midcap seeing over 3% cut each.
Several individual stocks have seen a sharp cut in trade today, as much as 7-10%. Here are the top movers and shakers today
Petronet LNG
The Petronet LNG share price is down nearly 10% in trade at the moment. The share price, in fact, plunged 12%. The company informed gas marketers of Qatar halting LNG production after Iran continued to strike Gulf countries in retaliation. PTI reports indicate that Qatar has declared force majeure on deliveries following a halt in production in the wake of an Iranian drone strike. Qatar is India’s largest supplier of imported natural gas.
In fact, Qatar supplies about 40% of the nearly 27 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) that India imports annually to meet demand. The demand for LNG spans across sectors ranging from power generation and fertiliser production to CNG distribution and piped cooking gas networks.
Petronet LNG Ltd has Shares of Mahanagar Gas tanked 8.50 per cent, Indraprastha Gas dropped 5 per cent, and Gujarat Gas declined 4 per cent on the BSE.
L&T
The other big loser in trade is this capital goods major. In fact, the L&T share price plummeted 7% for the second straight day. The share has now lost over 15% in two trading sessions. The street is apprehensive about L&T’s exposure to the West Asia. The latest data indicates that close to Rs 3.6 lakh crore, about 49% of its consolidated order book, is tied to international projects. What’s worrying is almost 80% of its overseas orders comprise of projects from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Middle Eastern markets. Prolonged conflict in the region is likely to impact the execution and the payment pipelines.
Oil India
The crude prices have rallied to 8-month highs, and Brent Crude is now above the $84/bbl mark. This has also lifted the sentiment for many onshore oil companies. The share price of Oil India has risen 3% in intra-day trade. Nomura highlighted that “large scale damage to oil and gas assets could lead to oil surpassing $100/bbl.” They also expect this to lead to a surge in GRMs as a result.
Oil India is Nomura’s preferred play on the potential spike in refining GRMs due to disruption in refining operations in the Middle East. We estimate 50% of Oil India’s target price to be derived from its refining investments in Numaligarh Refinery (unlisted).”
Tata Steel, SAIL, JSW Steel
Several steel stocks are also under pressure in afternoon trade. Tata Steel and SAIL have all seen 7% cuts in intraday trade. Though the correction is seen as part of the broader shift in sentiment, investors also tend to avoid stocks linked to the economic cycles when geopolitics indicate strain.
Apart from that, the Tata Group Chairman indicated that Tata Steel is looking to diversify its limestone import destination. It currently depends on West Asia significantly for limestone.
Coal India
The share price of Coal India surged 2%. The analysts are expecting that disruption in global oil supplies and a surge in crude prices may lead to a increase in coal prices.That would be margin accretive for Coal India. As per estimates by international brokerage house Jefferies. Coal India may see a 5% surge in volumes between FY26-FY28. The company is betting on gradual demand pick-up.